Blichmann Beer Gun - First experience feedback

Christmas came early (to myself) and I pulled the trigger (pun intended) on a Blichmann beer gun. I only have one keg and wanted to be able to keep a variety of my homebrews around for comparison and for traveling with it. Not that I bottle the full keg, just what is left in it once my next batch is ready to be kegged. So here is a write up on my first adventure with this little toy:

At my LHBS, I picked up the gun, along with kit and then a CO2 splitter for the regulator for the additional CO2 line, a valve and some teflon tape. They gave me a valve that required a little modification, but nothing serious.

Anyways, the directions are simple, easy to take it all apart, sanitize and put back together.

One lesson learned (yes this was a dumb move on my part); I hooked the beer tap to the pressurized keg prior to me attaching the other end to gun . 5 minutes later after briefly pressure washing my beer room with pumpkin porter, I was ready to go!

Chilled the gun as well as the bottles for about an hour prior to filling. I set the keg down to 2psi to start, and when i finished I had upped the pressure to 7psi. I followed the instructions, purge for a few seconds prior to filling, then once full I purged the top again with a quick blast of CO2 just before capping. To hopefully keep oxygen out, I capped each bottle as i finished filling. Foaming wasnt an issue for me at any pressure.

Overall, my keg turned out to have a 12 pack left in it which is now bottled and in my keezer. Holiday Ale is now kegged and should be ready to go soon!

The ONLY downside I noticed:
I noticed a substantial change in my CO2 tank from this process. It was low to start with, but by the time I finished bottling, the gauge was in the red.

Has anyone else noticed this much of a change from this process? I didnt think I used an excessive amount of CO2; purged the bottles for roughly 3 seconds, then a quick blast at the top of each bottle as I mentioned earlier.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase and am looking forward to seeing how long the beer will last in the bottles. I would like some feedback from all Blichmann users on that please.

Now I can take my homebrew with me much easier!

Thanks for the review. Just about the get one of these myself.

I've bottled over 4 cases in one sitting with the Blichmann and never noticed a change in my pressure gauge. It doesn't use that much CO2 (unless your purging for more than second or so.). Another tip for the gun. A few days before you bottle, up the keg 2-4psi. This will compensate for the headspace in the bottle. The CO2 in the beer will equalize with the dead space. By upping the psi you'll have noticeably better carbonation.

Hammy71 said:

I've bottled over 4 cases in one sitting with the Blichmann and never noticed a change in my pressure gauge. It doesn't use that much CO2 (unless your purging for more than second or so.). Another tip for the gun. A few days before you bottle, up the keg 2-4psi. This will compensate for the headspace in the bottle. The CO2 in the beer will equalize with the dead space. By upping the psi you'll have noticeably better carbonation.

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I did up the psi in the keg for a few days prior to bottling, i purged for 3-5 seconds per bottle but i wonder if the gauge just drops quicker once you are far on the low end, that could have also been the case.

Yeah, if your tank is already getting low it does seem to go down quicker. Sorta like a Harley gas gauge.....Full, Full, Full, Full, 1/2, empty.

Have you cracked one open yet? I too just started using the beer gun and I noticed in the instructions it says to wait a week before opening. I was a little surprised when I read that because I thought I've read about people using the gun to go from keg to party. Just curious.

drewbop said:

Have you cracked one open yet? I too just started using the beer gun and I noticed in the instructions it says to wait a week before opening. I was a little surprised when I read that because I thought I've read about people using the gun to go from keg to party. Just curious.

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On what page of the instructions are you seeing that? I'm looking at a PDF right now and even searched it for some keywords and I can't find anything that says that.

srl135 said:

I did up the psi in the keg for a few days prior to bottling, i purged for 3-5 seconds per bottle but i wonder if the gauge just drops quicker once you are far on the low end, that could have also been the case.

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The gauge actually doesnt drop until your tank is near/empty. Other then empty it should always be in that 700 range (when warm)

I found a bottle I filled with my Beergun about 5 years go in the back of the fridge. I opened it and was amazed that it still had nice carbonation and no oxidation flavor. It was a crappy beer to start with, which was why it was still in the fridge, but it didn't get any worse over the years.
One hint I have. If you're filling lots of bottles have a growler full of starsan to put the Beergun in while you cap your bottles.

corkybstewart said:

One hint I have. If you're filling lots of bottles have a growler full of starsan to put the Beergun in while you cap your bottles.

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+1

You need something like a pitcher or growler to hold the Beergun. The first time I used mine, I did not use anything and it was incredibly awkward to put it down and then cap the bottle. I now use a growler of starsan.

I'm expecting one of these for Christmas. Can't wait!

I love mine... I have only used it twice...I will open a bottle tonight that I filled on Halloween ..Ill report back for S's&G's

Side note: I have not seen a drop on Co2 gauge... and I way over purge. I use 3-4 psi during filling

+1 on Star-San filled Stein or Growler

I think the CO2 drop had to be because it was so low already. Got the tank filled will see how it goes on the next round of bottling.

+1 for a place to put the gun while bottling. I happened to have a bucket with starsan in it already that i used to sanitize the gun so i put the gun back in there each time i stopped to bottle.

And no, i havent cracked any of those bottles open. My keg happened to have a perfect 12 pack left in it so i got all boxed up in the freezer; I'd like to save it for awhile and do a taste test comparison between batches. FWIW I have decided I DO NOT like the BB kits. I was able to do a taste test between one shiner clone (fresh ingredients from Defalcos) i bottled back in June and one of the pumpkin porter (BB kit) and was reminded how much better flavor fresh ingredients provides. Neither are what I'd consider one of my top brews, but definately a more full flavored and full bodied beer with fresh ingredients. Needless to say im excited for my Austin Homebrew recipe to get here tomorrow!

+1 AHS Kits